Hi all,

So glad I come across this great forum, lots of good advice and learning the process of immigration to Canada. I hope some of you can give us a bit of advice?!

Me and Hubby with 2 dogs, no kids have always want to immigrate to Canada and wondering when is the right time to start the process. Our situation is that he is currently in British Army, still have 4 years before retirement when he gets his full pension, it'll be then we'll be ready to move but having just seen the list of skilled worker occupation which he should qualify and the fact that he is now aged 36, we want to start the process while he is qualify enough points to apply as skilled worker.

He is currently an Army major with the REME and have lots of experience in Aerospace and Mechanical engineering so this should fulfill the requirement.

As the processing timeline is currently 21 months, I assume this will take around 2 years to hear back with decision, if we get approved and granted Visas, how long do we have until we have to leave the UK? I understand based on researching the forum is that it is normally pretty soon, before the medical expires?! My question is can we just land in Canada for say a week to activate the visas and return to the UK to finish his Army career? I understand we may need an address in Canada for them to post our PR card? I can get that arrange as we've friends there, will that be sufficient?

The reason for applying this early simply because we're worry that the occupation list may change in few years time and also at 40, he'll be earning less points in the age category and keen to get organised. Am I being unrealistic?

Thanks for any information in advance!

Hi all,

So glad I come across this great forum, lots of good advice and learning the process of immigration to Canada. I hope some of you can give us a bit of advice?!

Me and Hubby with 2 dogs, no kids have always want to immigrate to Canada and wondering when is the right time to start the process. I would say start in a years time, its a long process and just because it says 21 months does not mean that its not going to take longer, they may ask for extra info this adds time to the average processing time. Our situation is that he is currently in British Army, still have 4 years before retirement when he gets his full pension, it'll be then we'll be ready to move When you get your PR status, you can land and go back to the UK, as long as you spend 2 years out of 5, but the 2 years does not need to be consecutive. However make sure you are not a resident of Canada when his pension and gratuity is paid, as this will be liable for Canadian Taxes. I am just about to leave the Royal Navy and off to Canada. l but having just seen the list of skilled worker occupation which he should qualify and the fact that he is now aged 36, we want to start the process while he is qualify enough points to apply as skilled worker.

He is currently an Army major with the REME and have lots of experience in Aerospace and Mechanical engineering so this should fulfill the requirement.

As the processing timeline is currently 21 months, I assume this will take around 2 years to hear back with decision, if we get approved and granted Visas, how long do we have until we have to leave the UK? You must land before the expiry date on your Certificate of Permanent residence, this is usually based on when your medical results expire. Medical results are valid for 12 months. I understand based on researching the forum is that it is normally pretty soon, before the medical expires?! My question is can we just land in Canada for say a week to activate the visas and return to the UK to finish his Army career? Yes, but watch the tax issue I mentioned above, usually better to wait until this payment has been made I understand we may need an address in Canada for them to post our PR card? I can get that arrange as we've friends there, will that be sufficient? Yes, but they would need to send it back to you in the UK for you to re-enter Canada. You would also need to declare your goods to follow list on first landing, just make an inventory of everything you plan to take

The reason for applying this early simply because we're worry that the occupation list may change in few years time and also at 40, he'll be earning less points in the age category and keen to get organised. Am I being unrealistic? No Depending on what province you are going to, you might be able to get your friend to sponsor you via one of the PNP routes, or get a job offer from a Canadian employer via the LMO route, meaning you could land on a TWP.

Thanks for any information in advance! [/QUOTE]

I am sure that most if not all of the advice I have given here is correct, but if there are any discrepancies, I am sure someone will be along to correct me and point you in the right direction.

Thanks so much Chiefmissile! That confirms more or less what I understand but not sure about taxes issues regarding penisons etc, must research some more.

I'm not sure which route you're applying as but according to the skilled worker route, letters from previous employer detailing his jobs will be required and as he is still currently with the Army, he is not sure how to get that done?! Since you're in the Navy, if you happen to apply as skilled worker too, can you share your experience on that?

We're thinking Nova Scotia..not my 1st choice but more his! We're still undecided in terms of provinces and friend I've there is not close so skilled worker or employment route is more or less our focus.

Please note that being a PR won't necessarily mean you are resident for tax purposes, if that helps in anyway. Also CIC have implied that processing times should be coming down (we'll just have to wait and see on that). So say it was processed in 1 year, you land 6 months later then it could get pretty tight for meeting the 2 out of 5 years residency requirement.

Hi BJT, thanks for the extra info, can you please clarify what you mean by "Being PR won't necessarily mean you are resident for tax purposes"? I was sure that any lump sum from a military pension paid into a UK bank account would be subject to Canadian tax if you had PR status?

Regards

Andrew

Hi, we went via the Provincial Nominee Program, with my wife being the principle applicant, as she has the NOC A Skilled worker status. My Parents who have been Canadian Citizens for the past 22 years were our sponsors. This has meant a massive reduction in the processing time, we applied 1st June 2012 and we are now just waiting on a Passport request to issue our COPR (Like a Visa) so really fast compared with the FSW route.

Regarding a letter from work, I didn't need to as my wife was the principle applicant, so can't help you there.........sorry. But would suggest including any professional & educational qualifications with your application.

Regards

Andrew

Tax residency is essentially based on where you live for both the UK and Canada, therefore your immigration status doesn't matter. Even if you have activated your PR status in Canada, if you haven't actually moved your lives there, then you are still tax resident in the UK and not in Canada.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts...sdncy-eng.html

Thanks, that's an excellent link

Regards

Andrew

Hi,

That was a great link. Having looked at the website it looks as though in our case we would be considered residents of Canada as we would have activated our COPR and got a SIN and registered for Health cards. The problem I have is that I was granted a 7 week extension of service in the UK military, the problem with this is that my terminal grant and partial commutation will be paid around the 15th Sep. If I were to land in Canada as a visitor first (7th Aug) and not activate our COPR until after the lump sum payment was made to my UK account, would this resolve my issue?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Regards

Andrew

Assuming you are all still living in the UK and just popping over to get COPR activated and SINs I don't believe that would make you tax resident. I'm pretty sure you also won't be able to register for health cards until you've made the actual move over since you won't have an address and wouldn't meet the residency requirement.

The primary factors for determining residency are dwelling place (or places), spouse or common-law partner and dependants. So if you and your immediate family still live in the UK, it'd be hard to say you are resident for tax purposes in Canada. Especially if you still own your home or continue your rental contract in the UK.

However, enough secondary ties could make you considered tax resident, these include social ties, provincial health care coverage, provincial driver's licence, Canadian bank account, Canadian employment, PR status. Therefore, you want to keep these secondary ties to a minimum.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/n...f1-c1-eng.html

I'm sure JonboyE (an accountant in BC) will be along soon enough to clarify anything I've got wrong.

Unfortunately we are coming on the 07 aug ona one way ticket. What I was considering doing is not activating our copr until after my lump sum had been paid on 18 Sep. so would land as a visitor (staying with my parents) with my copr tucked away until we flagpole?

Thanks again

Andrew

In that case I'd say you are tax resident from 7 August, since you are making Canada your home. You may want to consider the cost of remaining in the UK vs the tax you'll have to pay to Canada. Also I wouldn't put it past the CBSA officer to insist that you land as PRs, since they will know you have a COPR as soon as they scan your passport.

Do you have any option to not commute your pension?

No, as I have already submitted the application and you can't amend it. You get a lump sum and the part commutation on top. Its tax free here in the UK, what about the bilateral tax agreement between UK & CAD surely Canada should treat the payment as HMRC do?

How would Revenue Canada know what I had been paid anyway, its not as if they would have the authority to look into my UK bank account? The amount I receive is a terminal grant so not classed as income.........I think?

Thanks for your wisdom, this extra 7 weeks could potentially cost $$$$$ in tax, may be worth cancelling the flights, taking the hit on the air fare and delaying our landing, that would be the cheaper option? Didn't know that our passport would flag that we had COPR, another good thing to know.


Regards again

Andrew

How could I delay the issue of my COPR? When they send PPR I could delay that, send it just before we leave the UK and ask for the COPR to be sent to our address in Canada. Once my payment has been made, then we could flagpole?

Andrew

BTJ is essentially right in what he has posted. As far as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are concerned, you become a tax-resident of Canada when you move here to live. Once you are tax-resident here all your income is taxable according to Canadian Law.

There is no tax-free lump sum in Canada. The retiring allowances paid to members of the Canadian armed forces are taxable. Often they can defer the tax by contributing the retiring allowance to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Unfortunately, as a new immigrant, a retiring member of the British armed forces will not have RRSP contribution room.

According to the Tax Treaty, pension income is taxable in the country where you are tax-resident. Therefore, if you become a tax-resident of Canada before you receive your tax-free (in the UK) lump sum it will be taxable in Canada.

Every situation is different, but the only way you can ensure your lump sum is tax free is to make sure you are still in the UK when the money is deposited in your bank account. Whether or not it is worth cancelling your tickets and changing your plans will depend on your personal circumstances.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) The pension income is eligible for pension splitting in Canada - you can share it with your spouse to make the best use of lower marginal tax rates.

2) There are very few hard and fast rules about tax residency. It is decided on the basis of fact. However, there is one rule the CRA will follow. If you are a permanent resident and apply for a provincial health plan then you will be a tax-resident of Canada. (To apply for coverage under a provincial health plan you make a declaration that you are resident in a province - so you must be resident in Canada.) If you are due a lump-sum and are trying to stay non-resident until you receive it then do not apply to join your provincial health plan.